


Pistachio Ice-Cream

by JuliannaRosenburgh



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Parenting, Child Neglect, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 15:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10700208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliannaRosenburgh/pseuds/JuliannaRosenburgh
Summary: The one where Le Papillon takes Adrien for ice-cream.





	Pistachio Ice-Cream

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't in the same series as "Project Adrien", but it shares similar themes with it. I just can't seem to stop torturing poor Adrien.

"You probably think it's a good idea taking me hostage, but my father probably won't even notice that I'm gone," those were the words that Adrien Agreste said to Le Papillon upon his capture. It made Gabriel's heart break under the mask. 

To think that his son doesn't even think that he would notice his absence... The boy doesn't appear to bluffing. He seems to be resigned to this fact.

That's how they now ended up here. 

"Pick any flavour you want."

Adrien stares at him suspiciously. The people behind the counter stare at him in fear. 

"This isn't what it looks like!" Adrien stammers, waving his hands, as the clerks glance at him. "I'm his hostage." 

"I'll take pistachio," Le Papillon tells a terrified clerk, "Tell them what you want Adrien." 

"I'll have vanilla, thank you," says Adrien, not forgetting his manners under even these circumstances. 

 Once they both received their ice-cream they departed the shop. 

He had suspicions about his son being Chat Noir, so he couldn't bring his hostage to the dome or the boy might return later as Chat Noir with Ladybug in tow. 

He hadn't just remained in the ice-cream shop because it had too many windows for his tastes and also had within it about a dozen other people to handle, besides Adrien. 

He also had a different building in mind. Put in place by the comment Adrien had said in such a matter of fact way earlier on. 

He leads him up to the Agreste mansion and orders Adrien to unlock it. The boy does so under his stern glare. 

"If your father won't even notice you're gone, then why go through the trouble of hiding. This way you're somewhere familiar," Le Papillon tells Adrien once they're inside. He knows the way that it will claw at him, even with the words he pronounced earlier. 

He walks them into the living room.

Adrien mumbles weakly, "Why go through the trouble..." he trails his hand over a shelf. 

"If you're expecting Ladybug to come and rescue you, you'll be saddened to know that she is busy fighting one of my Akuma," he informs the boy. 

The boy keeps a perfectly straight face at the news, even though if he's Chat Noir that means his partner his currently fighting alone. "I'm used to being alone. I only started attending public school this year. And my father barely looks at me." 

He turns on the television. Thinking over what to say. It shows Ladybug fighting the threat. No Chat Noir sight. This seems confirm his hypotheses. 

"You seem generally capable to me, Adrien," he finally settles on, turning away from the television and back to the boy. 

On the television Ladybug "saves the day". Le Papillon isn't watching this. He is watching Adrien's face. The boy hides it well, but he can see that the further sign of his irrelevance harms the boy. It shows up in his eyes. 

"I suppose you were right," Le Papillon says, "the great 'Gabriel Agreste' really didn't notice that his son was missing." 

He walks towards the front door, leaving a surprised Adrien in his wake. 

"You're leaving just like that?" his son asks. 

"Would you prefer I stay?" he queries, hand on the door. 

"No. I'm just surprised," Adrien admits, "that you're just leaving like that, after you went through the trouble of taking me hostage."

"Well what's the point of a hostage that no one's looking for?" he says, twisting the knife. 

He leaves Adrien standing there alone in the entranceway. 

***  
Adrien lies on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. He feels untethered after his encounter with Le Papillon. 

Usually he, well he as Chat Noir, and Ladybug are just dealing with whichever person has been Akumatized at the time. It was very strange interacting with the man himself, and as Adrien no less. 

He hadn't felt overly threatened by the villain. The ice-cream incident had been bizarre though. Perhaps Le Papillon had just craved ice-cream?

He can remember his father having pistachio ice-cream the last time they had ice-cream, but that was before his mother went missing. Weird coincidence. Plenty of people like that flavour though, they must, or they wouldn't sell it.

"Adrien!" suddenly he can hear his father shouting from the main floor.

That's strange, his father never shouts. 

"Yes, Pére?" he replies, exiting his room. 

His father is rushing up the stairs towards him. To Adrien's great surprise the man pulls him into a hug.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" his father says when he pulls back. He does look uncharacteristically ruffled. 

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Adrien replies. His father was concerned about his whereabouts after all.  Warmth curls in his stomach at the thought. 

As he lays a hand on Adrien's shoulder Gabriel is calculating how he can use this weakness of his son's, both as himself and as Le Papillon. 


End file.
